Black Rainbow
by Love-in-the-Stars
Summary: Reno’s unspoken past returns to wreak havoc on his already stressful life. He’s in love with a boss who he feels could never look at him the same way. Reno’s starting to fall apart and the only person who can put him back together is the last person he ex
1. An unlikely Meeting

_Black Rainbow_

Summery: Reno's unspoken past returns to wreak havoc on his already stressful life. He's in love with a boss who he feels could never look at him the same way. Reno's starting to fall apart and the only person who can put him back together is the last person he expected.

Reno/Tseng, past Reno/Cloud, onesided Cloud/Reno.

A/N: Hmm, well, with any luck this story will be just as good if not better then Crimson Clouds, hopefully…

Anyway, Please R&R! And hope you Like!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, I'm just borrowing the characters for my own enjoyment, and yours.

_Chapter One: An Unlikely Meeting_

In a messy apartment the sickly glow of Mako reactors eerily lighted a bed where a red haired man slept. Suddenly there was a loud, obnoxious beeping. The red head stirred and reached under his pillow for smooth, cool metal.

One, two shots, then blissful silence. The head lifted, and he sleepily gazed down the demolished remains of an alarm clock.

'Damn, that's the third one this month.' He thought,

'Wonder if I can get the company to pay for a new one.'

He shrugged and fell back to the pillow where he promptly began to snore. Before long a vibration against his leg and a loud ringing woke him again. With a groan he pulled out his cell from his pants pocket. (A/N: Yes he sleeps in his clothes. He's a slob.)

"What'd ya want?" he slurred sleepily.

"Reno." A rich, smooth purr entered his ear and he grinned foolishly.

"Reno, if your not down here in fifteen minutes, I'll more then dock you pay."

Half asleep, the threat of his boss' words didn't register and he mumbled incoherently.

There was a sigh,

"Wake up. This is an important mission, we need you alert."

Listening to the lull of his voice caused Reno's eyes to finally close.

"Reno?"

Reno snored and the phone slipped from his hand, hitting the floor but not closing.

"Reno?"

When Reno didn't respond there was a loud fog horn sound from the phone. With a yelp Reno sat straight up and scrambled for his phone.

"What! What's goin on?"

"Do I have your attention now?"

Fully away Reno sighed,

"Yeah, Boss." He said, getting out of bed and quickly sitting back down as a bout of nausea hit him.

"We have an assignment, now get down here."

There was a click then nothing but the dial tone. Reno closed and put it away with a groan,

"Yes, sir. I really should stop drinkin so much." He grabbed a bottle off the bed side table and downed it all to ease his hangover. After giving it a minute to kick in he stood up and stretched. Under his clothes Reno was tall and lithe; his body was built not for strength but for speed. Combining speed with his skill with his Electro-Magnetic, or Mag-rod as he calls it, makes him a worthy opponent against anyone. He pulled his hair out and ran a brush threw it, then retied it back. He yawned and patted his pockets to make sure he had his keys. Reno hitched his mag-rod on his belt and replaced his gun back under his pillow, he didn't like guns but kept this one just in case. He ran a hand through his hair and set out.

Twenty minutes later he parked his heap of junk car in the employee parking level then took the elevator to floor 70, the Investigation Division of the General Affairs Department, more commonly known as the Turks. As Reno waited for the elevator to descend he reflected on the irony of what he was. The Turks were really nothing more then hired spies and assassins. They were a lie in themselves. He yawned again as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. He turned right and strolled past his office then his partner's and then stopped right outside his Boss'. The coffee machine was right outside the door and the smell was insanely strong. Reno sneezed as the smell assaulted his senses. He quickly shook his head and opened the door. A raven haired man with Wutaian features, including a black tilak on his forehead, sat at his desk signing papers. He didn't look up as Reno entered. Disliking the silence Reno stifled a yawn behind his hand. He eyed the two chairs in front of the desk but made no move toward them. The door behind him opened again and Reno causally glanced over his shoulder as his partner entered. As the man stood next to him, Reno found himself once more marveling at how giant the man was, he well towered over Reno. It wasn't just him height the man was pure muscle with dark tanned skin and ever present sunglasses that hid his every emotion. Over all he was a very intimidating man.

"Rude, Reno. Sit." The Wutaian spoke without looking up. While they seated themselves he shuffled through some folders before handing first Rude one, then Reno. Reno scanned his while his boss talked.

"The President is concerned that their may be a rebel group forming among the people. He has ordered that the Turks investigate and find out any information possible. Your first job is to investigate Midgar."

Reno frowned slightly,

"We don't even have any names to go on?"

"You may have to expand your search, I trust it won't be a problem?"

"No, sir." Rude answered.

"Now you'll need to be somewhat disguised, I'll leave that to you."

"Sure thing Boss." Reno sighed,

"Dismissed."

Half an hour later an almost unrecognizable Reno appeared from the men's room. His long crimson hair was dyed a pitch black, contrasting sharply with his pale skin. His natural impish green eyes completed his look. Muttering darkly about how he hated changing his hair he barged into his partner's office, where Rude was debating over which wig to wear. After all, a huge bald guy with sunglasses would stick out a bit. When Reno stood next to him Rude had already narrowed it down to two different styles, both were black.

"Use the bowl cut one." It was Reno's favorite look on Rude. Rude put it on and Reno stepped back to examine him and shook his head,

"Ditch the sunglasses, man."

Rude reluctantly and carefully removed them and placed them in a pocket. Reno nodded in satisfaction,

"Now we're ready to spy."

"Reno, you know Tseng doesn't like it when you don't take your work seriously." Rude said sternly.

Reno rolled his eyes,

"The Boss is a stiff, man."

"And you're a pain in the ass."

"Touché." Reno said after a pause. He sneezed suddenly and cursed,

"Damn hair dye." He muttered.

"You bought the wash out kind, right?"

"Yea, mum." Reno said sarcastically.

"Well, you bitched for 3 months last time."

Reno cringed,

"Don't remind me. Man, I still feel sorry for all the blonds out there."

As Rude finished the final preparations Tseng stepped in,

"A word of advice." He said smoothly,

"After you search Midgar try Junon."

Reno nodded,

"Sure."

Tseng looked at him and a tiny smirk flitted across his face,

"Black is… a strange look for you."

"Tell me about it." He replied, fingering a jet black strand,

"But it beats blond any day."

Tseng nodded in rare agreement,

"Don't mess this up." The raven haired man warned then was gone.

'Gee, thanks for the confidence.' Reno thought, sticking his tongue out at the door and Rude rolled his eyes at the display of childlike behavior.

'Well.' Rude thought to himself,

'It is Reno.'

Maturing slightly Reno shook his head,

"That man keeps getting stranger and stranger."

Rude just grunted.

'Although he's still as hot as ever.' Reno found himself absently thinking.

'Whoa! Where the hell did that come from?'

"Reno?"

Reno looked up at Rude quickly,

"What?"

"You ready to go?"

Reno nodded,

"Yea, let's get this over with."

As they drove into the Sector 6 Slums Reno was staring out the window, lost in his own confused thoughts. Since when had he found Tseng hot? That was the million gil question. Was it a new attraction or was it something that had lain dormant in him until he could no longer ignore it? Then he began to remember something's, incidents where he had found himself admiring Tseng's body, wondering at the feel of his long raven colored hair and even daydreaming about the man. Reno mentally kicked himself and sighed, ignoring Rude's glance.

'I am officially the biggest idiot on the face of the planet. A Slum bred runt attracted to a higher born city guy. Great. What a fuck up.'

When Rude parked his car in a relatively deserted area Reno pulled himself out of his mental hole and left the car. Rude hit a button oh his key that enabled the car's security feature, anyone who touched it would be on the receiving end of a painful electric shock. A vehicle left unattended in the Slums would be completely stripped in half an hour.

Rude turned to him,

"We'll split up, we can cover more ground that way."

Reno nodded and they headed off in different directions. He stopped at the first bar he saw and sighed, this would take awhile.

Seven bars and 550 gil later Reno had no more information then he started with and the darkness was just starting to get oppressive. The only light in the Slums at anytime was artificial, the Upper Plates blocked out all sun, the only weather that penetrates in wind and rain.

Reno went to check the time and cursed, he'd left his watch behind because it was a special Turk only edition. Shrugging, he yawned and decided to check one more place, then call it quits for the day. He picked a bar closer to the center of the Sector 6 and swaggered in. It was a hazy, smoke filled, half filled bar. The drinkers ignored him as he waded through them to reach the counter. Since it was his last stop he ordered a slightly stronger drink then the other times. The barkeeper poured him his scotch and he scanned the bar as he drank. The barkeeper moved away, wiping the counter. After making sure nobody showed any interest he turned his back on them and waved for the barkeep. The man came forward and Reno did what Reno does best.

When He emerged from the bar he was just as clueless as when he went in. Reno ran a hand through his jet colored hair and sighed,

'I hope Rude had more luck then me. Hell, this is probably just some wild goose chase.'

As he started back it began to rain. Reno looked up irritably,

'Great, just what I need. Now the dye will run."

Sure enough when he examined his tail the red was beginning to bleed through. Cursing, he started to run back to the car. Soon it was pouring and he was soaked, his hair plastered to his head with his bangs hanging limply in his face. Despite the run he wasn't even breathing hard when he reached the car.

"Shit." He swore aloud. Rude wasn't there.

'He's probably nice and dry in a damn bar somewhere.' Cursing his partner under his breath he bent his head and started walking toward the nearest bar. He didn't get very far before someone ran headlong into him. They went down in a tangle of limbs and Reno saw stars when his head smacked the pavement. When he cracked open his eyes he saw a face he had never expected to see again. Spiky blond hair and glowing blue eyes.

"Reno?" The blond questioned in amazement.

Shocked, Reno closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness.

End of Chappie one.

Sorry for the short first chapter but rest assured the others will be much longer. I've got good plans for this, heheh. Review and tell me what you think about it. Cookies to anyone who guesses who the blond is. It's real hard, think, blond with glowing eyes. Hmmm?


	2. The Past

_Black Rainbow_

Summery: Reno's unspoken past returns to wreak havoc on his already stressful life. He's in love with a boss who he feels could never look at him the same way. Reno's starting to fall apart and the only person who can put him back together is the last person he expected.

Reno/Tseng, past Reno/Cloud, onesided Cloud/Reno.

A/N: Here is Chapter Two to Black Rainbow, hope you enjoy the slight Reno torture. And yes there is a very tiny hint at rape toward the end, most of it is in the next chapter.

Also I wanted to again thank the people who DID review my first chapter and they are:

MoroThe WolfGod- You deserve a cookie!

Elfanyan- Thanks, your pretty loyal a reader, huh?

Lemon Lime- Thank you and here's for you.

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. End of story.

_Chapter Two: The Past_

Recap:

"_Shit." He swore aloud. Rude wasn't there._

'_He's probably nice and dry in a damn bar somewhere.' Cursing his partner under his breath he bent his head and started walking toward the nearest bar. He didn't get very far before someone ran headlong into him. They went down in a tangle of limbs and Reno saw stars when his head smacked the pavement. When he cracked open his eyes he saw a face he had never expected to see again. Spiky blond hair and glowing blue eyes._

"_Reno?" The blond questioned in amazement._

_Shocked, Reno closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness._

Even in the rain the blond could hear approaching footsteps. He hesitated then slipped Reno's goggles off his head. Holding them tightly, the blond looked at him one last time, then ran.

Rude removed his wig as he walked, shook it out and placed it in a pocket. At the same time he took his sunglasses out and put them on, pulling out his key once they were settled. As he approached his car he hit the button again and there was a beep to signal that the security was disabled and Rude paused. He had expected Reno to meet him here. Frowning he looked around and spotted familiar red hair.

"Reno!"

Rude dashed forward where Reno lay crumpled in a heap on the ground,

"Reno! Damn." He knelt beside him and saw the black hair dye being washed away in tiny rivers of color. Because of Reno's own hair color and the dye Rude didn't see the blood that mingled with his hair and the black rain, but he did see Reno's hard shivering. Worried, Rude quickly picked him up and set him in the back seat of the car. He quickly checked him over for wounds and saw that he was fine other then being soaked to the bone.

'Damn, at this rate he'll catch hypothermia.'

Rude started the car and was off like a shot.

_**Flash **_

_Burning, intense heat and overwhelming smoke. _

_Everything's on fire. Everything went wrong, it shouldn't have happened, it couldn't have. No. No. It can't._

"_Reno!"_

_Somebody's calling me. Who?_

"_Reno! Run!"_

_Where? It's not right. This shouldn't be happening._

"_Save yourself! Please!  
This can't be happening. No. I won't!_

_I won't leave you behind!_

"_Leave me, Reno! You must escape!"_

_NO! Ahh! It hurts. Hurts so bad. Wha-_

"_RENO!"_

_Stop! Please, NO!_

"_Dammit, Reno! Run! NO! Leave him ALONE!"_

_What? Where did you go? Please, don't leave me alone with this! The pain, it's too much. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

_**Flash**_

"How is he?"

"He hasn't woken up yet and the doctors said he had a concussion. Reno should be okay in a few days."

"Do you know what happened?"

"No. When I got to the car he was just laying there."

Sigh,

"Do they know when he'll wake up."

"It's in the air, he's not in a coma."

"Then we wait."

Reno came slowly to, his head strangely fuzzy and too heavy to lift.

'What the hell hit me?'

When he opened his eyes he saw the sterile white walls of a hospital room. Reno frowned,

'Gaia, I hate hospitals.'

"Reno?"

Blinking against the brightness he turned his head at the voice. Sitting in a stiff hospital chair at the side of his bed was Tseng.

"What in hell happened? What the hell am I doing here?" Reno muttered, trying to sit up through the pounding in his head only to have Tseng push him back down.

"Stay still, idiot. I was hoping you could tell me what happened. Do you remember anything?"

Reno closed his eyes and thought. He could remember bits and pieces but that was it. It had been raining that was for sure. Then, there was a face, but it was unclear, the harder he thought the hazier it became the pain increasing with the effort.

Finally he sighed,

"I remember the interrogations, I couldn't find anything out so I headed back to the car and it started raining. Then…nothing."

Tseng raised an eyebrow,

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. I don't know what happened after that, it's like nothing did happen. I'm there, then I'm here with a headache the size of the Midgar Train."

Tseng sighed,

"Well, Rude found you passed out around his car somewhere. No one was around and it was hard to tell how long you were out there for."

"Oh."

It fell silent and Tseng stared at him,

"How do you feel? You're not talking much."

Reno's eyes started to close,

"I'm just…really…tired."

Then he was out. Tseng shook his head,

'It's all those drugs they've got him on. It's a wonder he woke up in the first place.'

He sat for a minute longer, studying him. Something flickered in his eyes but was gone as he stood up. At the door Tseng paused and looked back at Reno. Then, with an almost inaudible sigh he left the hospital room.

_**Dream**_

_I choked as thick smoke clouded my senses. I wasn't sure how much more I could take, but I refused to leave him behind to die. Suddenly, over the crackling of the blaze, I heard the groan of a weak beam crumbling. Stunned, I could only watch as the ceiling support beam started collapsing toward me._

"_Reno!"_

_Something crashed into me from the side and we were sent flying, away from the beam. Dazed and confused I staggered to my feet. Hands pushed me from behind,_

"_Reno! Run!"_

_Not understanding I turned toward him. Blond hair turned grey with ash and blue eyes dark with distress. I immediately knew neither of us were getting out of this inferno alive. Then, out of nowhere another support beam crashed down between us, effectively cutting us off from each other._

"_Save yourself! Please!"_

_Gritting my teeth in determination I fought the flames,_

"_I won't leave you behind."_

"_Leave me, Reno! You must escape!"_

_Unwilling to give up, I lunged toward him but hands grabbed me roughly from behind. Without warning I felt the cold steel of a blade slice deep inside me. I tried to gasp, but the strike robbed me completely of breath._

"_RENO!"_

_Unable to defend myself or even fight back, I could do nothing as the sword withdrew, drowning me in another wave of pain._

"_Dammit, Reno! Run! NO! Leave him ALONE!"_

_But they weren't done with me yet. Even through the pain I could feel hot breath ghost my ear as my tormentor laughed. I could not hear, or see, I am dying and I know it. But I could feel everything, the warmth of the blood that streamed from me, the pain that only grew worse, but mostly the feeling of something in my heart dieing, something I can never get back. Without really knowing why, I felt so sorry for him, I felt as though I had somehow failed him, without knowing why I faintly felt myself say, in some hope he could hear,_

"_I'm…so…s,sorry…Cloud."_

_**Dream**_

With a gasp Reno bolted upright in the hospital bed. The dream of the past still vivid in his mind. He shook his head hard and it began to break up and fade, like dreams do. He rubbed his eyes and when he ran a hand over his head he absently noticed that his goggles were missing.

'Man, I never thought I would see him again after that day. And I never did. At least not until"

His thought was cut off by the hospital door opening. In stepped his partner, looking as unruffled as ever with sunglasses in place. Rude raised an eyebrow when he saw Reno sitting up.

"You're awake. The way you passed out on Tseng we figured that you'd sleep for a while more."

Reno grinned, faintly embarrassed about passing out like that,

"Nah, I think I've had enough sleep for a week."

"Well, how are you feeling?" Rude asked.

Reno sighed in mock depression,

"Horrible. I'm starving to death here."

"Of coarse you are. I'll see what I can do."

Reno smirked,

"You're a pal."

Behind his sunglasses Rude rolled his eyes,

"Keep that in mind the next time you're pulling pranks."

Reno gave him a wide eyed innocent look,

"Who? Me?"

Rude sighed.

When Tseng returned to the hospital from checking in at the Shinra Tower, he was Rude enter Reno's room bearing a tray heaped with food.

Tseng shook his head,

'He's obviously feeling better if he's already demanding food.'

When he paused outside the door, Tseng heard Rude question Reno,

"Tseng said you didn't remember what happened."

"Well, that's not quite true. Where are my goggles?"

"I don't know, you weren't wearing them. Wait, you lied to him?"

There was a moment of silence,

"What do you mean I wasn't wearing them? I never take them off."

"Look Reno, I don't know. I was more worried about your condition. Now answer my question, did you lie to Tseng?"

Tseng frowned.

"No, Rude. I didn't lie to the Boss. I really didn't remember, but now, well I'm not sure."

Something was off about Reno's tone, and it had Tseng confused.

"Reno?"

"Look, there…might…have been a guy, but I'm not sure. It could have been a dream from when I was out of it."

Then there was just silence. After waiting a few more minutes Tseng opened the door and stepped into the room. Rude stood at the foot of the bed and Reno was sitting up, the huge plate of food in front of him. As Tseng stood there he took a moment to take in the oddity that was Reno. His once more red hair was not in its traditional tail but flowed down his back and his bangs were regaining their spikiness with a few strands still hanging in his face. The white hospital gown and sheets made him seem even paler and frail but Tseng could tell he was alright by the way he was shoveling in food. Still, Tseng could also tell that he was troubled, for when Reno looked up at him, his emerald eyes brightening, Tseng could see some darker emotion lurking in their depts.

"Boss." Reno mumbled through a mouth full of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Tseng automatically scolded.

Reno swallowed and grinned sheepishly before forking in more.

Rude turned to him,

"Sir, Reno thinks he may have remembered more about the man who attacked him."

Reno almost choked in his haste to swallow,

"What! I never said he attacked me! It was an accident!"

Tseng raised an eyebrow,

"A concussion is not an accident."

Reno shook his head,

"The guy ran into me, nothing more. When we fell I must have smacked my head on the concrete or something. It's really no big deal."

"Then why didn't he try to help you?"

Reno shrugged, chewing,

"Maybe Rude scared him off?"

"Manners." Tseng muttered, sighing,

"Well, did you at least get a look at this guy?"

Reno stopped chewing in a sure sign of hesitation, for a minute it looked like he wasn't going to answer, then he finished,

"He was…blond…and he had blue eyes."

"Anything special about him?"

Reno looked at him quickly,

"What?"

Tseng's eyes narrowed slightly,

"Is their anything about him that stands out?"

"Oh."

Reno looked down at the tray.

'Okay, there is something going on with him.' Tseng thought suspiciously.

"His eyes glowed, similar to the way a SOLDIER's does."

"Similar?" Rude repeated,

"Was there a difference?"

Reno nodded, refusing to look up,

"It was brighter then any I've seen, but keep in mind it might not have even happened."

Tseng and Rude looked at each other,

"It's believable." Rude said.

Tseng nodded,

"I'll do some investigation with the description."

Reno looked at him in confusion,

"What? An investigation? Why? It was an accident."

He looked at Reno with an unreadable look,

"Call it curiosity."

Tseng went to the door and pulled it open when Reno stopped him,

"Wait!"

Tseng turned back. Reno made to say something but bit his lip, then said something else,

"When can I get out of here?"

"Tomorrow or the day after."

Reno fell silent and looked more troubled then before. As he stood there, Tseng was struck with the urge to demand what was really going on and fix it. He found himself wishing he knew how to comfort him, make him feel better, or better yet, read his mind to find out exactly what was wrong. But Tseng made no move toward him, and not just because ever silent Rude was still there. Finally Tseng made himself move, and he left the room, Rude close behind. Left alone, Reno pushed the half eaten tray away and sighed.

In a half lit bar in Sector 6 sat a blond with eyes that seemed to glow. He was alone at his table with a drink at his side. In his hands he held a pair of goggles that he examined and turned over in his hands. Clenching the goggles in a fist, the blond closed his eyes and sighed,

'I've finally found you, Reno.'

Finally the blond stood and slipped the goggles into a pocket. Leaving the drink untouched and determination in his eyes the blond left the bar and resumed his search.

Three days later Reno walked into Tseng's office with Rude already seated and waiting.

"So what's going on?" He asked, closing the door behind him.

Rude nudged the chair toward him with a foot and he sat. Tseng handed him a manila folder.

"Going by your description I dug up this file, is it him?"

Reno opened the file and looked down at the picture with wide eyed surprise. That same golden blond hair and strange blue eyes, swallowing hard Reno read on.

NAME: CLOUD STRIFE

HEIGHT: 5' 6"

AGE: 25

SOLDIER RANK: 1ST CLASS

ORIGIN: SECTOR 6 SLUMS

BIOGRAPHY: PARENTS DEAD, NO LIVING RELATIVES.

Following that was a small list of past petty crimes, Reno's own biography was mostly crimes then anything else.

"Reno?" Tseng asked, Rude nudged him and Reno quickly looked up,

"Huh?"

Tseng raised an eyebrow, watching him closely,

"Is that him?"

Reno closed the file and handed it back,

"No."

Tseng frowned,

"Are you sure? Didn't you grow up in Sector 6 too?"

Reno nodded,

"Yeah, but I've never seen this guy before. I told you it was probably just a dream." He leaned back and laced his fingers together behind his head, looking away as Tseng studied him through narrow eyes.

Finally Tseng sighed,

"Alright, if your sure. We still have that mission to complete, so I'm sending you both to Junon."

"Today?" Reno asked.

Tseng shook his head,

"You'll go tomorrow."

"Sir." Rude said,

"Will we need to be disguised?"

Tseng thought for a minute,

"No. You can go as you are. Dismissed."

They stood up to leave,

"Oh, Reno."

"Yea, Boss?"

"You still have paperwork to do."

Reno nodded,

"I know."

"You need to actually do it, Reno."

"I will."

Once he closed the door behind him, Reno rolled his eyes,

"Eventually."

Rude loomed up beside him,

"Reno. Do your paperwork before you go home."

Reno raised an eyebrow,

"Since when do I ever do paperwork?"

"Reno, do I have to stand behind you as you do it?"

"Fine, fine. I'll do it. Mum." Reno muttered as he headed for his office. Rude rolled his eyes and turned to leave for the night.

An hour after everyone else had left for the night at 6:00, Reno dropped his pen and stretched, his whole spine cracking.

"Uh, I'm so ready for the bars."

He stood up, grabbed his coat and headed to clock out. Reno glanced at Tseng's office and saw a light coming out from the bottom of the door,

"Diehard." Reno muttered. Then he paused and looked from the office door to the elevator and cursed. He went over and knocked on Tseng's door, before poking his head in. Tseng looked up and raised an eyebrow in surprise,

"Reno? What are you still doing here?"

"Just finished the paperwork you ordered so I'm heading out. Thought I'd tell you."

Tseng nodded and looked back down.

Reno hesitated,

"When you're done do you want to go get a drink?"

Tseng frowned,

"You're going out drinking? I don't think you should do that, you've just recovered from a concussion."

Reno shrugged,

"I told you it wasn't a big deal, besides I'm not drinking that much."

Tseng shook his head,

"You've got a mission tomorrow, Reno. You should act like it."

'I'm going to take that as a 'no'.' Reno thought.

"Yes, sir. Sorry to have bothered you." Sighing, he closed the door and left.

Tseng stared at his closed door with a deep frown.

After downing his sixth shot, Reno stood up and decided to call it a night. He yawned and paid the barkeeper, wading through the people to the door. Stepping outside he breathed in the night air and started walking back to his apartment, he didn't notice someone getting up and following him. Reno had picked this particular bar simply because he could walk home easily without his shit heap of a car. He folded his arms behind his head and looked up, walking kinda slow. After a few minutes he could just see his apartment building when a voice called his name from behind him,

"Hmm?"

Reno turned and dropped his arms, eyes widening in shock,

"Y, you!"

The end. :D

Just kidding!

The blond smirked,

"Nice to see you too, Reno."

"C, cloud…but you, and I…we…your." Reno stuttered, unable to get his point across.

"You thought I was dead."

Reno nodded vigorously,

"Yeah!"

Cloud smiled and pulled out a pair of goggles,

"I believe these are yours?" He asked, holding them out.

Reno looked at him uncertainly and slowly took them,

"What, what happened, Cloud? I, I looked for you, b, but no one seemed to know about what happened that night."

Cloud raised an eyebrow,

"They didn't tell you?"

"Who? Tell me what?"

Cloud shook his head,

"Oh, man. Reno, what do you know?"

Reno frowned,

"After I was attacked, I blacked out. When I woke up I was in a hospital and the nurses told me that I was rescued by Tseng, nobody thought it was anymore then a fire. The Turks seemed to be the only ones suspicious, but they didn't do anything about it."

Cloud nodded,

"You're partially right. The people who set us up did stage it as a fire, but the Turks aren't stupid. They, as well as the doctors, knew your injuries were more then fire related. The Shinra bigwigs ordered them to keep quite about it or they'd end up dead. I only know about what happened during your hospital stay, how did you become a Turk?"

Something about that statement bothered him, but Reno couldn't think what.

"When did you become a SOLIDER? I was told no one survived but me…why would they lie?"

"Best I can tell that's what the Turks were ordered to do. I was taken to a different hospital and the General offered me application to SOLIDER. Since you were supposed to be dead I agreed."

Cloud explained with a shrug.

"Really? Tseng offered me into the Turks, too. While I was in the hospital, do you think they know we knew each other?"

Cloud shook his head,

"I don't think so."

There was an awkward moment of silence and Cloud moved closer to him,

"What's the matter, Reno? You seem uncomfortable."

Reno looked away nervously,

"Well, up to about three days ago I thought you were dead."

Cloud laughed softly,

"Yeah, me too."

Cloud studied him and sighed,

"What is it, Reno? Do you not trust me?"

Reno shrugged,

"A lot has happened the years past."

'Like falling in love with my boss.' He thought.

Cloud nodded,

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean anything's changed."

Reno looked at him with wide eyes,

"What? Yeah, it does. Everything's changed!"

Cloud blinked,

"Like what?" he asked, reaching out to touch Reno's cheek.

Reno turned his face away and Cloud looked pained.

"We're not teenagers anymore, Cloud."

Cloud scanned him up and down,

"Obviously. You've grown. You're hotter then ever."

Reno sighed,

"That's just it, Cloud. What we had died with the fire."

Cloud frowned,

"What are you saying, Reno."

Reno ran a hand through his hair, not looking at the blond,

"Cloud…" he trailed off and tried to figure out how to say it.

"Are you saying you don't love me anymore?"

Reno didn't respond.

"So it is."

"I'm sor"

"Damn it, Reno! Feelings like that don't change!"

"Cloud"

"So it was all a lie?! You lied about loving me all those years ago!"

"No, I"

"Were you just using me? Playing some sick game for you own selfish reasons?"

"SHUT UP!" Reno yelled,

"Will you let me finish?"

Cloud glared but let him go on,

"I didn't lie to you. I did love you, but when you 'died' I let go. Moved on, I still care for you, but it's a dead love Cloud."

"Why are you pushing me away?" Cloud pleaded.

"I'm not…pushing you away, I just don't love you enough for a relationship past friends."

"Friends?" Cloud repeated,

"But I love you Reno!"

"I'm sorry." Reno said, shaking his head and backing away. Cloud looked after him as Reno turned and began walking back to his apartment.

"Reno, wait!" Cloud called, running up beside him,

"So that's it? We meet for the first time in seven years and all you can do is walk away from me?"

Reno glanced sideways at him,

"What do you want from me, Cloud?"

Cloud grabbed him by his shoulders, turned Reno toward him and pressed their mouths together in a demanding kiss. Reno laid his palms to Clouds chest and pushed, but Cloud was so much stronger it had no effect. Only when they had to breathe did Cloud back off.

"Cloud, move on. I have, why can't you?" Reno muttered, trying to ignore what just happened.

"Because Reno, I've loved you for over a decade. How can you expect me to move on?"

Reno sighed,

"You're a great guy, Cloud, and you're good looking. You'll find someone else easily." With that he kept walking and was in front of his building when Cloud once more ran after him,

"I don't want anyone else, Reno!"

Reno growled and put a hand to his forehead,

"Just stop, Cloud." He moved to the door but Cloud grabbed his wrist, hard. He tried to pull away but Cloud wasn't about to let him go.

"Don't make me hurt you." Reno warned his other hand going toward his mag-rod. Cloud moved quickly, he pulled Reno backwards into his chest, his other hand closing on Reno's other wrist, squeezing hard enough to cause him to drop his mag-rod with a yelp. Cloud held Reno tightly to him, resting his mouth next to Reno's ear,

"You're the one I'm worried about hurting."

Reno struggled to free himself,

"Then let me go!"

Cloud shook his head,

"I won't lose you again."

"I'm already lost to you!"

"Stop fighting me, Reno." Cloud said calmly, freeing up a hand by holding both of Reno's wrist in one hand. He brushed a hand through Reno's hair and nuzzled his neck, causing Reno to shudder. Cloud's next words felt like ice water down his back,

"I see I can still make you shiver. I wonder if I can coax any more responses from you?"

A small seed of fear was planted in Reno's heart then. This wasn't the same boy he had fallen for all those years ago, Cloud was…different. It was eerie, scary even. Reno yelped in pain when Cloud suddenly pulled his collar over and bit his shoulder.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Reno yelled, fear slowly being over run by anger.

"Something I've only been able to dream about." Cloud purred, kissing his neck and starting to push him toward the building. Gritting his teeth, because he knew what he was about to do was going to be painful, Reno slammed his head back, cracking skulls with Cloud. The blond released him with a hiss and backed away. Reno swayed as his vision darkened and he was white spots. He stumbled back and fell onto his rear, feeling his hand land on his mag-rod.

"That wasn't very smart, Reno." He faintly heard Cloud over the ringing in his ears,

"You're still recovering from a concussion, which I feel horrible about by the way."

Slowly his vision and hearing were returning to him and he was able to make out Cloud crouched in front of him. Reno held his mag-rod tightly and Cloud looked down at it, raising an eyebrow,  
"I believe you're holding the wrong end."

Reno internally cursed, his senses were so numb he hadn't even noticed that he wasn't holding the rubber grip but the metal through which the electric shocks flowed. Cloud pulled it from his grip and studied it.

"Interesting choice." Cloud commented, turning the dial and pressing a button. Blue sparks jumped from the metal end, causing the air to become lightly charged.

"Because just looking at you sends a shock through my system."

Cloud laughed and grabbed him by his arms to pull him up to his feet. Reno fought him the whole way but, was just too weak to be able to stop him. Cloud half carried, half dragged him into the building. With each step closer to his apartment, and ultimately his bed, Reno desperately hoped someone would step in and stop this. No one did. No one even heard his screams.

!#$&()+

Sorry but this time it's the end for real. The end of Chapter two that is. Don't worry there will be more. I'd like to think this came out pretty well, but…well…I'll only know for sure if you people will be kind enough as to review. And see, this one is longer. Hmm… it seems almost too long, I'll have to work on that… anyway, many thanks.


	3. Discoveries

_ Black Rainbow_

Summery: Reno's unspoken past returns to wreak havoc on his already stressful life. He's in love with a boss who he feels could never look at him the same way. Reno's starting to fall apart and the only person who can put him back together is the last person he expected.

Reno/Tseng, past Reno/Cloud, onesided Cloud/Reno.

A/N: Welcome loyal and new fans to the Third Chapter of Black Rainbow. This Chapter will be a slight bit darker then the other two and I also apologize for the shortish chapter. I was hard pressed to get this done and I have no time to write anymore. I get up at 5 in the morning for school, I don't get home until 7 pm because I joined the school bowling team and I go to bed at either 9:30 or 10 pm sooo I don't have much if any free time any more. So, once more I'm sorry for long updates breaks. But on a lighter note…Enjoy!! And please drop me a review when you finish!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy.

Review Replies:

FreakZilla: Ah, I know, I'm trying to work on that. I'll try harder now, I promise.

Blackcat686: Aww, thank you!

Lemon Wine: Hehe, yeah, what can I say. Cloud works well for that position, almost as well as Rufus.

MoroTheWolfGod: Yeah, I hope he does, that would be nice… Hehe, I'm evil.

YinYangWhiteTiger: Ohh, I apologize for the au-ishness it makes me a little mad too… And I'm sorry for the bad joke, I have a twisted sense of humor.

_** Chapter Three: Discoveries **_

Recap:

"_I believe you're holding the wrong end."_

_Reno internally cursed, his senses were so numb he hadn't even noticed that he wasn't holding the rubber grip but the metal through which the electric shocks flowed. Cloud pulled it from his grip and studied it._

"_Interesting choice." Cloud commented, turning the dial and pressing a button. Blue sparks jumped from the metal end, causing the air to become lightly charged._

"_Because just looking at you sends a shock through my system."_

_Cloud laughed and grabbed him by his arms to pull him up to his feet. Reno fought him the whole way but, was just too weak to be able to stop him. Cloud half carried, half dragged him into the building. With each step closer to his apartment, and ultimately his bed, Reno desperately hoped someone would step in and stop this. No one did. No one even heard his screams._

(RENO P.O.V)

The next morning I lay naked and hurting on m bed, staring blankly at the far wall.

'How could I have been…raped? I…I don't understand.'

I hadn't tried to move yet, I was so stiff I wasn't even sure I could. Thoughts and images of last night spun around my head again and again, what Cloud did to me, what he made me do to him. Starting to feel physically sick, I forced myself to get up off the bed. It hurt like a son of a bitch, but I did it. Stumbling to the bathroom I threw up, purging Cloud's taste. Once I was down to the dry heaves I dragged myself back to my room and gathered up all my clothes from yesterday and put them in a pile. What? You don't think I'm going to wear them after that do you? I'm going to burn the fucking things first chance I get. Thankfully Cloud had left not long after…everything. Those last words he said to me though, kept resurfacing,

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Although I refused to admit it, deep down inside I knew Cloud would be back and their would be a repeat of last night. What could I do to stop him? Cloud was Mako enhanced, as were all SOLDIERS, but with him being 1st class he was stronger then all the others, fighting him would be useless, as last night showed. It's not like I could tell anyone either. I mean Tseng's my boss and always told Rude and I to be strong and never let anything or anyone to get to us. No, I'd only disappoint him, if not sicken him. And Rude, Rude wouldn't understand. He'd want to go out and kill Cloud, which isn't a bad thing, but then things would always be awkward between us. I will not risk ruining our friendship over being used like a god damned sex toy. It took me forever to get through his walls, he's my only friend, no, I'll have to take care of this myself. Somehow. I mean, Cloud's even faster then me and not even Tseng is more agile then me. What am I going to do? In fact I was seriously thinking about getting shit faced, but there's a mission today, going on a mission intoxicated, that's not something even I'd do. Being drunk on duty puts both of us at risk of being killed. I may be a lazy slob but I'm not that disgraceful. Still…I'd rather forget about last night, these images just won't go away. Every time I close my eyes and see…well it just makes me want to electrocute myself. Speaking of which, that bastard stole my mag-rod, how am I going to explain that one. Oh, well, I guess I'll have to make it up as I go, if I don't get going I'll be late. Damn, this fucking day is going to bite ass. I went into the bathroom to brush the puke taste out of my mouth and looked into the mirror. I looked like shit, the circles under my eyes were like the damn dark side of the fucking moon. My hair was a red mess, I don't think even gel was going to tame this shit. Dammit, I don't have time for this! I'm incredibly sensitive about my hair but, fuck, after last night I really don't give two shits. I ran my hand through the mess and shrugged, fuck it. Who's going to give a shit what I look like? Bowing my head, I braced myself on the sink and sighed.

Fuck, fuck, fuck and fuck.

&$#!

Shit, fuck. The day the Gods planned out my life they must have been in one hell of a sadistic mood.

I was standing nervously in front of Tseng's desk looking at anything but him as he stared at me with obvious disapproval. I really wanted to sit down so it could help hid my nervousness but I had forgotten to take any painkillers and I was sore as hell just standing. Never letting up on the stare, Tseng asked me why I was late. Heh, get this, just when I had pulled myself together enough to be on time my piece of shit car wouldn't start and I had been forced to call a cab, resulting in me being almost thirty minutes late. Luckily for me, Rude had already been briefed and was in his own office preparing.

"My car wouldn't start."

"You have an excuse for everything don't you, Reno."

Since that wasn't a question I didn't answer. It fell silent for a couple minutes and I made the mistake of looking at him. He was still staring at me, but his disapproving frown was now more suspicious then anything.

"Reno."

"Yeah."

"You look like shit."

Gee, thanks Tseng, that's just what I needed to hear. I didn't really have an answer to that, what do I do? Apologize? Normally I wouldn't apologize for anything, but Tseng can get me to say sorry without even trying. That's just his effect on me, one look can turn me into a self-conscious idiot who'd do anything to impress him.

I opened my mouth to apologize and he sighed,

"Just go and get ready, Reno."

Looking away I nodded and turned to leave,

"And Reno? You'd better not report for a mission hung-over again."

It took a moment for the meaning of that to sink in. He thought I was hung-over? Well shit, that works for me, it's believable to. I hadn't even thought to plead drunk, mostly because I wasn't. I hadn't had near enough to drink last night to come even close to drunkenness. Unfortunately. Maybe if I had been drunk off my ass I wouldn't have remembered what Cloud…did to me. Sighing with a bout of new depression I muttered an apology of sorts and quickly exited. Cloud. Hard to believe he's been right under my nose all this time, in SOLDIER, and I never knew. Us Turks know almost everything there is to know about what goes on in Midgar, it's our job to know. It's not surprising Cloud didn't know about me though. The Turks are well known, scratch that, well feared by the people and when they see that infamous blue suit they get out of the way quick like. However, sighting us in the city in our suits is a rare occasion, the only time that happens is when we're the President's or Vice-President's bodyguards. Most other missions are carried out in standard clothing. Like when we went 'barhopping' and I first ran into Cloud. Cloud…shit, what am I going to do? Shaking my head quickly I pushed myself off Tseng's door, where I'd been leaning, and hurried to my office. I unlocked a drawer and pulled out a small bottle filled with green pills. I kept these on hand in case I developed a headache from the paperwork I do when I'm forced to and my hang-overs I do have occasionally. Not sure how many I may need I took the whole bottle with me into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I glanced quickly at the stalls to ensure they were all empty and that I was alone. Going over to the sink I looked once more at my reflection. Tseng was right, I did look like shit. I've never seem myself so pale or my hair so damn ragged. With a heavy sigh I turned on the faucet to gather water in my cupped hands. I splashed and rubbed my face to get some damn color into it and ran a wet hand threw my hair in a futile attempt to flatten the frizziness. Huh? Is that even a word?

'Uhmmm…you're so tight."

I squeezed my eyes shut and furiously shook my head, trying to shake the image out of my mind. Dammit, I can't even debate over whether or not god damned word is a word without that fucking bastard popping into my fucked up head. Fuck, what the hell did I ever do to deserve this shit? Oh, that's right. I kill people for a living, that's got to be it. Growling in annoyance at myself I opened the bottle and shook out two pills. They were strong so I didn't need too many, I'd just end up in a coma, which might not be a bad idea considering…but no. I've never thought of suicide before and I'll be damned if I'm going to let that bastard be the one to provoke me now. Not because of HIM. Still…

Suddenly I head a toilet flush and I almost had a fucking heart attack at the shock. How could I have not known someone was in here! I must be losing it. As the stall door opened I spun to grab my mag-rod only to remember that it wasn't there. Luckily it was only Rude and I sighed in relief,

"Don't sneak up on a guy like that, man!"

Rude stared at me and I realized that my relief was short lived.

"What?"

"You look like shit."

…The Hell! I blinked at him, a bit dazed. I _know_ I look like shit, doe's everyone have to tell me?

"Hello to you too." I muttered to him, turning back to the sink. Rude's not a perceptive as Tseng, hell he's a few fries short of a happy meal but so am I, but he does have his moments. Like this damned one,

"Where's your EMR?"

I flinched at the question and the pills fell from my hands and down the drain,

"Dammit!"

Ignoring him, I shook out three pills this time, that headache was getting worse…I wonder why.

"Well." He pushed.

I glanced at him through the mirror,

"I lost it. I'm going to have to borrow one of your guns."

Rude stared at me in complete disbelief,

"You don't like guns."

No shit Sherlock, did you figure that out all by yourself?

"I know. I have to order another before the next mission, for now I'll have to deal."

"How did you lose it? You love that thing more then booze."

I know all ready! What is it with him and stating the obvious today?!

I popped the pills in my mouth and swallowed them dry, it didn't bother me like it did some people. I decided against answering him and screwed the top back on the bottle.

Rude clasped a huge hand on my shoulder,

"Reno, what happened last night?"

I winced at the power in his grip,

"What are you babbling about? You're not helping my headache you know."

I yelped as he tightened his hold,

"Don't play dumb with me, and don't try to tell me that you're just hung-over. I can tell when something's wrong."

I finally shook him off and rolled my eyes, that's the most annoying thing about Rude, he can get me to spill just about anything. Well, not this time, bucky, I will not risk our friendship over this.

"Calm down, I just haven't been sleeping lately."

Rude's look softened slightly,

"Nightmares?"

Hmmm? That's right, a few months ago I was having serious nightmares that kept me up, now I can't remember what they were about but they seem trivial compared to what I'm going through now. I slipped the bottle into my pocket and took one last look at myself,

"Yeah, but I can still do this."

"You sure?" He asked, following me out the door.

"Yep, this isn't even dangerous, it won't be a problem."

"Reno…" I vaguely heard Rude sigh from behind me.

&$#!

Well, this bite's ass. I've been to nine bars and haven't heard a single thing about an anti-Shinra group. As of now I'm sitting at the counter of a dirty, dimly lit bar watching some political airing with the President babbling on about some shit or another. It doesn't matter, it's all lies, only those dumbasses don't have a clue. Sitting not to far away was a bulky black guy with one half of his arm transformed into a gun. He was staring at the screen with a disgusted frown, then looking at the drunks who were hanging onto the fat bastard's every word.

Hmmm, this may be my break.

"Damn Shinra bastards, the only shit there're promisin is more lies and the deaths of even more people. Some one ought ta put Shinra down fer good." I muttered to myself, just loud enough for the black guy to hear. I flipped my middle finger at the screen and sipped from my glass. I know he heard me because he glanced at me real quick.

I yawned and then pointedly began to ignore everything. After a minute the man got up and sat next to me,

"Do ya think anythin Shinra says is true?" He asked without looking at me. Heh, hook, line and sinker, bitch.

I yawned in a 'who gives a shit' sort of way and snorted,

"Nope."

That must have been good enough for him because he looked at me now. The guy had hardened brown eyes and was tattooed up, in other words he looked like one tough guy. I'm going to have to be careful, if it comes down to it I can't kill him quietly without my mag-rod and all I've got is a gun. So, I've got to watch my back here.

"I take it yer not a Shinra die hard supporter."

I was purposefully putting a Slum accent in my words, it was easier to gather the confidence of the people this way.

The guy stared at me with narrowed eyes and then slowly shook his head.

"Good." I said, sounding bored.

"There's too many of those brainwashed assholes."

"Have ya heard of AVALANCHE?" The guy quizzed me.

Sipping from my glass I shook my head.

"Well, from what I've heard they're a group of people against Shinra."

My eyes shot toward him, then back. I knew it!

"Really?" I pretended to think for a minute,

"Where can I find this group?"

"Thinkin of joinin?" the man smirked.

I shrugged,

"Sure. I'd like nothin more then ta see Shinra get knocked off its pedestal."

"Yer not the only one." The man stood,

"There's a bar in Sector 7 called Seventh Heaven, there ya can find a spiky haired blond, he's the one ya need ta talk ta. Tell him Barret sent ya."

I tilted my glass, ice clinking loudly,

"This will be fun."

The man, Barret, glared slightly,

"Just make sure anyone connected with Shinra doesn't find out our ye'll end up real dead, real quick."

I yawned to show him just how unimpressed I was,

"I'm not afraid of death, I could care less. So, this spiky blond, he got a name?"

"Cloud. He's an ex-SOLDIER of Shinra."

Cloud! No, it can't be, not him! Barret clapped me on the shoulder then walked away but I didn't really notice. Cloud…is the leader of an anti-Shinra activist group? That so doesn't sound like him. That should have showed up on his file. Wait, not if it had happened recently, like after running into me. Groaning I rubbed my face with a palm and signaled for another drink. So now fucking what? If I give my information we will be sent to kill Cloud and the other AVALANCHE members and knowing the psycho that Cloud is he won't go quietly. Which means that one way or another they're going to find out about me and Cloud. But to withhold that information and lie is treason and the punishment for that is death. Shit, I've got no choice, I'll have to tell Tseng. I started when I felt a looming presence behind me and heard,

"There you are."

In my shock I knocked over my glass and cursed.

"Dammit, Rude! Quit sneaking up on me like that!"

Rude laughed at me and then took Barret's seat,

"Did you find anything out? I didn't."

I hesitated, then sighed,

"More then I wanted to know."

Rude frowned at me,

"What did you hear?"

Rolling my eyes I stood up,

"I'd rather wait until we get back to Midgar."

Leaving gil on the counter I turned and walked away,

"You coming?"

Frowning deeply, he silently followed me out. Looks like all I can do now is tell the truth, not the whole truth, mind you. I'll be leaving out a few minor details. They don't need to know about our relationship before and they definitely don't need to know about last night. At least…that's what I keep telling myself.

&$#!

Have you ever had anyone stare at you for hours at a time, never letting up? Well, if you haven't, it's the creepiest thing ever. And you know what makes it worse? Sunglasses. Rude's damn sunglasses makes it damn near impossible to even know if he's fucking blinking. He's been staring non-stop since we left that bar, and it's incredibly annoying. I tried ignoring it at first then I even told him nicely to 'stop fucking staring at me'. Did he listen? No, he didn't. And it's severely pissing me off. So I'm back to trying to ignore it, it's not working. If we weren't so damn close to the Tower I would've already tried to shoot him. Nothing serious, a foot, a hand maybe even an arm. Knowing him though he would probably just ignore that he was bleeding and keep staring. Now I'm seriously regretting demanding to be the one to drive. Finally we reached the Tower and I figured he'd knock it off, right? Fucking not a chance, I could feel his gaze on me all the way to Tseng's office. Once we were outside the door I suddenly spun and yelled at him to quit being a dick. Then Rude gave me his infamous response…nothing. The bastard didn't even twitch, which pissed me off even more. We commenced to have a staring contest, which isn't really a contest since I don't even know if he's blinking or not, when it hit me. Literally. He reached out and punched me in the shoulder with one word,

"Idiot."

I tried to glare at him. That caring bastard knows something's up so he's trying to get me to talk. Weird way to do it I know but you know the sick part? He's done it once before…and it worked. He had stared at me so long that it had unnerved me to the point that I started babbling it all out in one breath. I think he's a little miffed that it hasn't worked yet. Rubbing my sore shoulder and mentally adding it to my list of pains I decided that I'd better get in before Rude can pull anything else. Grumbling to myself I knocked on his door and went in when called. His office must be sound proof because he seemed surprised to see us there and then he confirmed it,

"Back already?"

Nodding, I eased my stiffness into a chair and Rude also sat down.

"What did you find out?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Rude muttered.

Tseng frowned and looked between us the two of us. I rolled my eyes, this was going to bite ass.

"The name of the rebel group is AVALANCHE."

Eyes narrowed Tseng nodded.

"Their leader is a spiky blond ex-SOLDIER named Cloud. He can be found in a bar called Seventh Heaven in Sector 7."

Tseng stared at me with a strange mixture of surprise, pride and suspicion.

"And you figured all this out how?"

I sighed,

"A member of AVALANCHE named Barret told me. He was watching the President's speech with more disgust then if he were watching Scarlet at an office party. I made a little comment on how horrible Shinra was and bingo."

Tseng frowned,

"It was that easy?"

I nodded,

"Yep, AVALANCHE seems like it's filled with a bunch of dumbasses." Not to mention psychos.

"Never underestimate the enemy." Tseng scolded me. Yeah, yeah, I know, you don't have to tell me. Apparently you can't underestimate your 'friends' either. Damn Cloud, using me like that, how am I so weak? Shut up, shut up. Quit thinking dammit!

'Ohhh, I miss what it feels like to be inside you.'

Covering up a shudder by rubbing my eyes and coughing lightly I glanced at the clock and asked if we could go home. Tseng stared at me with those oh so sexy chocolate eyes and I had to tear my gaze away. I had to get out of here, now. Between the images that kept flashing into my mind that I can no longer block out and Tseng sitting right in front of me, well, I can't take it. I have to go home and try to see if I can drink myself into a stupor. Ugh, I feel like I'm going to throw up, now, that's just great. Wait a minute, if I go home…terror struck me suddenly.

'See you tomorrow.'

Shit, shit, shit, shit! He'll come back! Oh, that won't go over well at all, oh no. Shit, fuck! I could feel a panic attack coming on, and I don't have panic attacks god dammit! I'm Reno of the fucking Turks for fuck's sake. We don't _have_ panic attacks! Shit! This isn't helping! I was worryingly close to a heart attack when Tseng's velvety smooth voice broke into my thoughts.

"Reno?"

I blinked and looked at them both staring at me in concern. Oh, oops. I must have missed something. Then I said the only thing I could think of,

"Huh?"

Oh, great, real smooth you dumbass.

"Alright, what's wrong with you?" Rude demanded, rather rudely.

I rolled my eyes,

"What are you talking about?"

I know it's dumb to play stupid but at the moment I'm not quite in my right mind. I'm having trouble concentrating on them with these damn, fucking images running through my mind like a fucking merry-go-round.

"I thought I told you not to play dumb with me!"

Just kill me now. I ran a hand through my hair,

"I'm just tired."

"Reno." Tseng said warningly,

"Start talking."

Shit, looks like I have to tell them something. I just hope I can hold myself together long enough to get to someplace private and safe, fast.

Avoiding their eyes, I made the plunge,

"The leader, Cloud, was an old friend of mine."

I could feel their shock as they stared at me.

"I thought he had died in the fire."

I snuck a look at Tseng and he had a strange frown on his face,

"The first-class SOLDIER?" he asked.

I nodded,

"Yeah, he's the one who ran into me too."

Suddenly I remembered something Cloud had said,

"Why didn't you tell me that someone other then me survived that damn inferno?" I demanded from Tseng.

Tseng shook his head,

"I wasn't aware that anyone else had. I only saved you."

"The reports said that there was only one survivor." Rude muttered as well.

I glared at them both,

"How the hell does' that work? He said the General offered him into the ranks."

Fuck. I wasn't supposed to say that.

Tseng stared at me,

"You've spoken to him."

Unfortunately.

I coughed slightly,

"Uh, yeah. We, uh, met in a bar."

Shit, this was going from shit to fuck, shit.

"What did he say?"

That he loved me still.

"That you and the doctors knew my injuries were more then fire related but were ordered to keep quiet. He was taken to a different hospital and the General approached him to offer him into SOLDIER."

Tseng frowned,

"How does' he know so much?" he sounded disturbed.

I shrugged,

"He said that he thought I was dead so he took the offer."

Rude snorted,

"That clashes with his information about you. How did he know all that?"

That froze me. Shit, I hadn't thought about it that way. If he thought I was dead up to 3 days ago, same as me, then how _did_ he know all that? Now, I'm more worried then before, what does he know about me that I don't? Okay, hold on, calm down. I counted to ten, then back and managed to once more hold back a freaking out fit.

"Well, he's wrong about one thing. I didn't know he was even in there, let alone who could have saved him."

"Do you think the General did it?" Rude asked.

Tseng sighed,

"I don't know, Sephiroth's not the saving type but it is possible."

Sephiroth? That's the General's name? Why does it sound so familiar in a vague way? Frowning, I tried to dig into my memory, there's…something…something I'm not getting here.

"Reno? You okay?"

No.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm just trying to think where I've heard of Sephiroth before."

Rude shrugged,

"Probably every where, he's famous as a General."

I rolled my eyes at him, duh,

"I know that, I mean"

Tseng's phone rang and he politely answered. Judging by the look on his face it was the President.

"Yes, sir. Yes…understood, sir."

Tseng hung up and sighed,

"He wants your reports personally. Now."

Shit, I just want to leave, dammit.

"Tell him what he needs to know, leave out that you know the leader, Reno."

That's a bit of a surprise. I'm not complaining, actually it's a huge relief, but it's still unusual for him to order us to withhold information. Okay, I can so do this. I hope.

"Okay, boss."

Rude nodded and we stood up to head for the door. Just as Rude left and I went to follow, Tseng stopped me. I turned to look at him and he paused, a strange look in his eyes,

"You don't have to hide it."

For a moment I was sure my heart stopped. Hide what? Please don't tell me he knows? Oh, god…

End Chapter Three. Sorry. ;)

A/N: Sorry to end it here but I think this is long enough to satisfy you guys for a little while right? This one actually came out better then I thought, I'm happy. Now, please review and I'll be even happier, don't you want to make your author happy so I'll update more?


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